Recurring hamstring injuries have precluded wide receiver Christian Watson to reach his potential in the NFL. After two years, it's easy to see how better the Green Bay Packers offense is when he is fully healthy, but it's been hard to trust he will be on the field in the most important moments of the season.
That's why Watson (and cornerback Eric Stokes) spent a week at Badger Athletic Performance, in Madison. There, medical researchers at University of Wisconsin-Madison received a financial incentive from the NFL Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to study prevention and treatment of hamstring injuries. The fit couldn't have been better.
One of Watson's lessons was that he had more power in his left leg, making his right leg more susceptible to injuries.
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"When you're trying to be equal in power, it obviously puts a lot more stress on the one that's not as strong," Watson said during OTAs. "That's been the No. 1 thing for me because that leads to fatigue, as well. It's a bad place to be, so obviously that's been my No. 1 goal to just kind of eliminate that."
Watson went through several exams. According to his dad, earlier this offseason, they found the root of the problem, and now are working accordingly to avoid new injuries.
"We have a NordBord that tells us the power outputs and the asymmetry," Watson added. "Honestly, that's my favorite part of the week, just going in there and getting to see that we've knocked off 4, 5, 6 percent of that asymmetry every week. Obviously, I still have a goal to get to. I want to be perfectly symmetrical, so I'll continue to work on that."
That sequence of events brings valid questions about what the Packers strength and conditioning staff was doing.
Whether this had an influence on it or not, head coach Matt LaFleur decided to adjust the staff. Chris Gizzi, who had been with the Packers since 2014 and the strength and conditioning coordinator since 2019, was replaced by Aaron Hill, a former assistant for the San Francisco 49ers.
"I think it's just some of the training methods, and then him making sure that he's doing all the little things when he's away from here," Matt LaFleur said of the plan to keep Christian Watson healthy. "He's embraced that and has been very disciplined in his approach. So, he is in a really good place right now."
Watson suffered a hamstring injury during training camp in 2022 and tried to play through it, but missed a game and then aggravated the issue, missing three total games. In 2023, another injury prevented him from playing the first three games of the season, and a new issue against the Kansas City Chiefs precluded him from playing the final five games of the regular season — he came back to the playoffs, but was still limited.
The Packers used two late second-round picks in 2022 to draft Christian Watson with the 34th overall pick. Over his first two seasons in the NFL, Watson has had 69 catches for 1,033 yards, and 12 touchdowns.
Related: Christian Watson's dad shares promising injury update
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